Texas should explore requiring schools to have at least one armed person on each campus, a Republican lawmaker said Tuesday.
Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, was speaking during the first House Public Education committee meeting of the legislative session. His comments laid the groundwork for what could be a tense debate over arming campus staff this year.
“It’s my position that the Legislature needs to consider that as a minimum requirement,” he said. “Don’t tell them how to do it, but tell them what needs to be done … that at least one authorized, trained, armed person should be on every campus in the state of Texas.”
Some Republicans say hardening schools — through facility upgrades and arming staff — could be a solution to making schools safer after Uvalde.
Speaking directly after Schaefer, Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, pointed out that 376 armed, trained officers responded to Robb Elementary on the day a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers.
During the Parkland, Fla. school massacre in 2018, an armed school resource officer also never went inside the high school or engaged the gunman during the attack.
“This conversation is heartbreaking, depressing, soul-annihilating — that we have to be talking about turning our schools into fortresses,” Talarico said.
Texas senators are having similar discussions. A Senate committee recently issued several recommendations to make schools safer, including advising that the Legislature should expand the list of people who are eligible to carry on campus, and loosen requirements for those who are allowed to do so.
Opponents of arming teachers ask how students and teachers would be protected from an accidental discharge or mistaken shooting. They also decry the idea of intentionally putting guns into classrooms.
Options for carrying
Texas allows school employees to carry guns on campuses through two ways.
One is a marshal program, which is not widely adopted. There are 279 appointed school marshals in the state, according to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. They are allowed in public school districts, private schools and community colleges.
Under the state’s guardian plan, school boards can authorize employees to carry guns on campus, with some guardrails.
Districts do not disclose who is armed.
The Texas School Safety Center’s last audit through 2020 found that 280 districts reported using the guardian program.
More districts discussed that option after the Uvalde massacre.
Among other security options, many schools position armed resource officers on campus or work with local police for staffing.
Because of the variability across the state, Schaefer asked during the hearing: “Are we not at the point where the Legislature is going to have to mandate to all school districts: Pick one.”
Texas school safety chief John Scott said districts feel differently about the best options for them. He added that law enforcement is a tough profession to recruit for right now.
“With over 9,000 campuses, even if it was authorized and funded, I don’t know that you could get there,” Scott said.
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